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This reviewer first took notice of Javier Bardem in "When Night Falls". It blew me away. When I heard that he would star in "No Country for Old Men" along with Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Woody Harrelson, I spent a few months in eager anticipation.

Combined with the directing and writing of the Coen brothers, it stood to reason that "No Country for Old Men" should be a hit.

It did not disappoint!

When Lewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles across the scene of a drug deal gone bad in the middle of the desert, he has no compunction over taking the suit case full of cash and leaving behind the pick up truck full of drugs.

Mobsters involved with the deal find the scene, minus the cash, and call in the man best suited (so they think) to get the job done: Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who will stop at nothing because he always makes good on his promises.

Taking home a well-deserved Oscar, Javier Bardem is stunning as Anton Chigurh, a hit man's hit man. He is as relentless at the Terminator, seemingly indestructible. The performance is so believable, so terrifying, that it left me nearly breathless.

Josh Brolin put more distinction to his steadily rising career with another fine portrayal as the defiant, headstrong Lewellyn Moss, while Tommy Lee Jones takes on the role of Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, the local law man with enough sense to get out of the way of the storm that is brewing between Chigurh and Lewellyn.

Chigurh is a little put out with Lewellyn, who had the guts to take the cash in the first place, and has the woodcraft and stamina to stay a step or two ahead of his pursuers. The trail of bodies that remain in Chigurh's wake are evidence enough for Sheriff Ed Tom to know that what is happening is more than he and his deputy want to tackle.

Back up hit man Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) gets called in to go after the now rogue Chigurh who is killing everybody and everything remotely associated with the whole thing. It's all becoming a big mess that he needs to fix.

This film never lets you come up for a fresh breath. The pace is ruthless; it's classic Coen Brothers at their finest, right down to the final scene. The Oscar for Best Direction as well as Adaptation went nicely with the Best Picture Oscar.

Every aspect of this film is well done: editing, music, scene set up, as well as the acting that sets it apart from practically every other film of 2007.

Rated R for strong graphic violence and some language.

A Paramount Vintage release

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